The XIII Pan American Nursing Research Colloquium, a biennial gathering of nurse leaders, researchers, scholars and students from the Americas and around the globe, will be held from September 5-7, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The 2012 theme is Global Nursing Research Challenges for the Millennium. For the first time in the history of the Colloquium this prestigious international gathering will be held in the United State and will be hosted by the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Sciences (UM-SONHS). This application requests funding in the amount of $50,000 to support our leadership of the 2012 Colloquium by helping to cover travel, simultaneous translation and other costs associated with organizing and implementing this large- scale international event. The overarching goal of the Colloquium is to foster international collaborations and the strengthening of research infrastructure in Latin American and Caribbean countries, as mechanisms for the reduction of health disparities and the improvement of disparity population health in these regions. Objectives are: (1) to disseminate emerging advances in nursing research from around the globe related to clinical practice, health systems, health services, and education strategies; (2) to advance our collective knowledge in order to support research related to the Millennium Development Goals; and (3) to strengthen evidence-based practice of nurses around the globe. The Colloquium program will also showcase the existing internationally collaborative activities of the NIH-funded Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research (El Centro). The program will consist of 6 keynote and featured speakers, 3 plenary panels, 6 breakout sessions consisting of 12 scholarly events per session, and 2 poster sessions. The Colloquium is intended to stimulate international research collaborations among the countries of Iberoamerica, with a focus on addressing health disparities in the region, on obtaining and leveraging resources to build and support research infrastructure in resource- limited countries, and on training and mentoring of nurse scientists to assume positions of transformative leadership in the healthcare field as investigators and as practitioners. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The XIII Pan American Nursing Research Colloquium will bring attention to issues of health disparities impacting areas of critical healthcare need throughout Iberoamerica and will foster international research collaborations with the goal of reducing health disparities and improving disparity population health. The Colloquium scientific program is designed to support the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, which address global public health needs such as poverty and hunger, child mortality, maternal health and HIV/AIDS. Finally, in response to current and anticipated global nursing shortages, the scientific program also addresses the need to train and mentor nurse scientists to assume positions of transformative leadership in the healthcare field.